FOREST, Va. – Roanoke College earned three Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Athletes of the Week for the week of Jan. 12.
Mark Samuel earned the conference's lighter wrestler of the week award,
Hunter Moore took home the heavier wrestler of the week award and
Cade Kinne was named the men's volleyball offensive player of the week.
Samuel, a senior from Wilmington, N.C., successfully dealt with the target on his back as the 2025 Division III national champion at 141 pounds defeated four nationally-ranked wrestlers on the way to help sixth-ranked Roanoke claim the Division III championship at the 2026 NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships. Samuel, currently the top-ranked wrestler in the weight class, began his run with a 12-4 major decision win over ninth-ranked Justin Fortugno in RC's 31-3 triumph over No. 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater. Roanoke took down No. 3 Wisconsin-La Crosse, 20-16, in its second match on Friday. Samuel registered a 9-5 decision over Talan Schutte, the 12th-ranked competitor at 141 pounds. In the semifinals on Saturday, Samuel turned in a 4-1 decision over 10th-ranked Cole Becker to help the Maroons turn back defending champion and second-ranked Augsburg, 23-11. In the championship match, Roanoke defeated No. 1 Wartburg, 19-16. Samuel posted a win by sudden victory-1 (5-2) over fifth-ranked Kade Blume.
Moore, a junior from Boulder City, Nev., won three bouts at 197 pounds in three of Roanoke's four matches at the 2026 NWCA/USMC Multi-Division National Dual Meet Championships, defeating a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers to help the No. 6 Maroons capture the Division III Trophy. On day one, Moore posted an 11-2 major decision victory over Hunter Coons to help RC defeat No. 13 Wisconsin-Whitewater, 31-3. He provided the deciding points on day two in both the semifinals and championship matchups. In a 23-11 win over defending champion and second-ranked Augsburg, Moore posted a sudden victory-1 (12-9) decision over Ethan Winkelman, the eighth-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds in Division III. In a 19-16 title-clinching victory over No. 1 Wartburg, Moore earned an 8-5 decision over Cal Dorota, the 10th-ranked competitor in the country. Roanoke's win at Northern Iowa marked only the second Division III championship won by a school not named Wartburg or Augsburg since this event began in 2002.
Kinne, a senior from Richmond, Va., was on-point with his attack from the right side in the Maroons' 3-0 win over Lancaster Bible College to open Roanoke's 2026 campaign. Kinne, an All-ODAC Third Team pick in 2025, registered 13 kills on 21 swings with just two errors for a .524 attack percentage. He added a block assist defensively.
